


The art of crash landing into my life

by mnemosyne_musings



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2020-10-20 01:56:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20667410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mnemosyne_musings/pseuds/mnemosyne_musings
Summary: River needs a favour from a Doctor that knows her but the Tardis isn't cooperating ...





	1. chapter 1

“So, Space Florida, done that. Where to next Pond?” The Doctor called out as he bounded up the stairs to the console, swinging the monitor round to face him as he did so. “The waterfalls of Astraea? The giant supernovae just off the Messier galaxy…, oooh how about a party, some dancing! We haven’t been dancing in ages, well except briefly in that underground cave on New Pluto but I don’t think that really counts as we didn’t really have the right…”

“Actually Raggedy Man, I think I might be done for the night, or whatever time of day it actually is on here..” Amy yawned making her way past the console and up the stairs “Need me some shuteye before I can think about dancing.”

“Just a quick trip! How about cocoa before bed! That’s always a good one,” The Doctor exclaimed, spinning round to grin at her, “There’s this brilliant little place on an asteroid just outside the Andromeda galaxy that does the best…”

“No Doctor! Take me for breakfast instead!” Amy cut in firmly as she made her way up the stairs, “I’m going to bed.”

“Fine fine. Another time,” The Doctor relented, watching her go up the stairs. “Amy” he suddenly called out “Did you have a good time? "

“What? Of course!” Amy laughed over her shoulder, “Space beach, space cocktails, space surfer dudes in tight shorts. What more can a girl ask for?!”

“Is there anything else I can…do you miss… I mean are you… happy?” he asked, suddenly looking serious and frowning intently at her from across the room.

“Happy?” Amy turned, a look of surprise on her face, “Course I am. Doctor this is amazing!” she exclaimed, “The universe, space, Florida, everything! You are amazing you numpty! What’s brought all this on?”

“Nothing, it’s just I…” he trailed off sighing, dropping his eyes to fiddle with one of the buttons on the console.

Making her way back down the stairs to where he was standing, Amy walked over to him. “Doctor, I’m fine” she insisted, grasping his shoulder and turning him to look at her as he peered at her worriedly, “But” she added in a half-whisper, watching as he leant forward anxiously, “I am still not going out for cocoa, or dancing, until I have had a shower and a kip.” Grinning suddenly, she planted a smacking kiss on his cheek before spinning and heading back up the stairs.

“I’m sure you can entertain yourself for a few hours,” she called over her shoulder as she reached the top of the stairs, “Do you not have any other friends?” she teased before heading round the corner and down the corridor to bed.

“Plenty actually! I’ll have you know Pond,” muttered the Doctor as he peered at the monitor again, sighing as he watched her leave the room. Dropping his head from the monitor, he reached into his pocket and pulled out Amy’s ring box and ran his thumb over the top of it. “Oh Amelia,” he murmured, “what have I done to you?”

Opening the box gingerly, he took the ring out and held it up, watching the light refract through the diamond across the console. It had been four weeks since that awful day in Wales when Rory had died. Not just died. Sacrificed himself. Erased himself from the universe forever. And for what? Just to save his miserable skin. Four weeks of pasting a smile on his face and trying to outdo each previous outing just to try and offset this huge yawning sensation of horror and self-loathing and guilt that he was trying to quash but kept rising unbidden. Several times he’d caught Amy staring into the distance as if trying to recall something and had had to almost bite back the urge to confess all.

Sighing heavily, he slipped the ring safely back into his jacket and turned to head down the stairs. Surely there must be something he could improve with the TARDIS room matrix. There must be a more efficient way to get to from the second-floor kitchen to the wardrobe room he decided. Perhaps a slide, or another helter skelter. That would certainly liven up breakfast.

Striding purposefully down the steps he stooped down and reached up into console workings and pulled down a mass of wires, peering at them before selecting a couple. “Ah ha,” he muttered to himself, “Helter-skelter here we come.” He reached back up to replace the rest of the wires but suddenly there was a loud crackle of energy and out of nowhere River Song suddenly appeared by the door.

“What? River, what… OW!” he cried out, forgetting where he was and standing up hitting his head hard.

“Sweetie?” she called out.

“River! You.. you….you can’t just…” he spluttered in outrage as he climbed up the stairs, rubbing his head and staring at her in disbelief.

“Can’t what?” she asked innocently, fluffing out her hair and sauntering towards him.

“Just appear! In my TARDIS!” he gestured vaguley around them, aware that that his voice was coming out slightly higher pitched than he’d anticipated. Must be because he had hit his head and nothing to do with the fact River Song was suddenly, unexpectedly in his TARDIS, looking like she’d just stepped out of rather glamorous party in a long, dark blue dress with a rather plunging neckline. Nothing to do with that whatsoever.

“Why not? She countered, looking unfazed as she made her way up the stairs and deposited her coat on the jump seat before checking her appearance in the mirror on the time rotor. “I’ve told you before sweetie, just because you couldn’t, doesn’t mean I can’t!”

“Because! It’s….it’s rude and my TARDIS and you know, I might be busy or with someone important…or be…”

“Naked?!” River interjected airily as he nearly choked on thin air, “Well that would be my lucky day eh!” she purred at him with a wink that definitely did not make him blush. Taking advantage of his minor flailing she swung the monitor towards her and began to type in some coordinates.

“What are you doing here anyway?” he demanded, glaring at her and grabbing the monitor back, twisting it back towards him, “When I last saw you... at the Byzantium you said I’d see you at the Pandorica?”

“Ooh, the Byzantium, the Pandorica – really?! Spoilers sweetie, you’re not normally this careless!” she winked at him, “Anyway, maybe I lied,” she dismissed as she pulled the monitor back towards her instead, “I need a favour Doctor.”

“What! No, no you can’t just waltz in here, commandeer the TARDIS and then demand favours like a….. like you’re my…. a ….” He trailed off thinking of all the slightly terrifying words that could finish that sentence before firmly putting an end to that train of thought. His head was still sore where he had banged it on the underside of the console, he had enough to worry about with Amy and he most certainly did not need River Song and her hair full of spoilers and insinuations tonight

“Like a what Doctor?” River demanded, hand on one hip and glaring back at him, “What’s the matter with you?”

“Matter! Nothing’s the matter, I’m just….. busy!” he snapped petulantly.

“You don’t look very busy. Is there some urgent TARDIS meddling I’m interrupting?” she asked raising an eyebrow knowingly at him. “Please tell me you’re not trying to install that helter-skelter again are you?” she added with a slight shudder, “You do remember what happened last time don’t you?”

“I don’t meddle!” The Doctor retorted, “And I’ve got no idea about a helter-skelter,” he lied, ignoring the way River lifted her eyebrow even higher in disbelief at him, instead mentally making a note to definitely find a way to install one as soon as he was rid of River this evening, “I’ve got some urgent repairs to do while Amy’s asleep.”

“Amy’s asleep?” River asked “But what about…oh…” she trailed off suddenly, a worried look crossing her face briefly, “Doctor, we haven’t done diaries. When are we?” she asked, biting her bottom lip slightly anxiously as she fished her diary out of her bag.

“Diaries?” The Doctor repeated, looking confused, “I told you, I saw you at the Byzantium and you said….”

“Doctor, do you know who I am?” River interrupted him urgently, opening her diary and flicking through the pages.

“Dr River Song, archaeologist, time-traveller, trouble maker in chief? Sounds about right,” he quipped, grinning nervously at her and suddenly feeling even further behind the curve than he usually did around River.

“Oh seriously… of all the times… not now” River muttered to herself, glaring down at the vortex manipulator on her wrist, “Sweetie, I’m sorry, my timing’s a little off. Didn’t mean to get you this early. “

“Early?”

“Let’s see, you can’t be more than what, nine hundred and five, six maybe?” she mumbled, peering up at him, “Hmmm, might make this favour a bit tricky,” she sighed in frustration, looking down at her wrist and tapping some coordinates into her manipulator, “Ah well, another time Doctor,” she winked at him before pressing down on one of the buttons and vanishing before his eyes.

Blinking a couple of times, the Doctor let out a long breath before running a hand through his hair and trying to ignore the sinking feeling that was settling in his stomach. Of course he wasn’t disappointed. This was much better this way, now he could actually have a quiet few hours fiddling with the TARDIS and not running around with River Song, desperately evading whatever trouble was bound to find them. No, this was perfect really. Really.

Shaking his head, he stirred himself and made to move towards the stairs before starting suddenly with a yelp when River appeared back in front of him again.

“Have I just left here?” she demanded as he nodded mutely back at her, “Hmmm, didn’t think you looked much older. Let’s try again then,” she added, vanishing yet again with a crackle of energy. This time however, she was barely gone five seconds before reappearing in exactly the same place.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me,” River exclaimed as he shrugged slightly apologetically, “Why are you doing this?!”

“Me?!” The Doctor spluttered indignantly, “I’m not doing anything! It’s that pitiful excuse for time travel you’re using. Highly illegal I might add,” he added in a scolding tone, wagging a finger at her causing her to simply raise an eyebrow at him.

“Oh hush, I didn’t mean you. She obviously isn’t letting me go to an older you,” River sighed, nodding at the time rotor, “Damnit. Kind of puts a spanner in the works for my plans for this evening I’m afraid,” she added resignedly, retyping some coordinates into her manipulator, “Well I’ll just have to think of something else. I should probably be going though,” she added regretfully, “Timelines and all that.”

“Wait no, why can’t I help?” The Doctor blurted out suddenly, grabbing out to still her wrist, “I’m not really that busy you know and Amy sleeps for hours and I could use some company,” he rambled, before spinning round on his heel and twisting the monitor back towards him with a flourish, “Name your coordinates Dr Song!”

“Sweetie, it’s not that simple,” River laughed, “I really wish you could but it’s too early. I don’t want to do something I shouldn’t. It’s not worth it,” she added gently as he turned back to face her, looking up at him with a smile that didn’t seem to quite reach her eyes, bringing her hand up between them as if she was about to touch his jacket or bowtie before freezing and pulling away.

“But the TARDIS thinks you should be here” he tried, looking down at her earnestly and unconsciously swaying towards her, unsure why he was suddenly so anxious to make her stay, “And the Old Girl does always know best, or so she tells me…” he added, a note of pleading entering his voice unintentionally as he watched the conflict play out over River’s face, fighting down the sudden urge to brush the curls away from the side of her face.

“Oh, Doctor you aren’t making this easy,” she sighed softly, turning away slightly from him, “What if this changes things? What if I spoil something I shouldn’t?”

“You won’t! No spoilery questions, I promise! Best behaviour!” The Doctor promised solemnly down at her as she raised an eyebrow slightly in disbelief at him, "Please River," he murmured softly, leaning forward slightly and looking into her eyes, breaking into a wide grin as she raised her arms in defeat, “Excellent! So, what is it you’ve got planned then?” giving in to the urge to lean in and tap her on the nose, noting the way her eyes lit up suddenly in a genuine smile that seemed so much more heartfelt than her expression before.

“Have you heard of the Sententia Doctor?“ River asked casually, cocking her head to one side and watching his expression carefully.

“The Sententia? Exclusively telepathic race. Very secretive. Strange rituals,” The Doctor replied with a small frown, “On the planet Themis. Actually it’s technically not a planet you know. It was previously a moon but then got shunted out of orbit by that unfortunate asteroid incident back in the 23rd century,” he added conversationally as River rolled her eyes indulgently at him, elbowing him gently aside to input coordinates into the keypad, “What! We can’t just go there uninvited!” he exclaimed as River sent them off into the vortex, swatting his hand away as he tried to stop her pressing the stabilisers and ignoring his protestations.

“We’re not!” she replied airily, “I’ve been invited!”

“Invited?” The Doctor repeated, frowning at her in confusion, “But that’s not ….. you shouldn’t be able to…. How?” he trailed off looking at her in puzzlement.

“Hmmm, see this is why I was trying to track down older you,” River sighed with an air of resignation “They’ve offered to help me track down something I’m looking for but I need to be there for their annual meeting of the elders,” she continued slowly, “But I need you to be with me. They’ve invited me to join the meeting but I need someone who can communicate properly with them this time.”

“Yes I see that,” The Doctor replied, still looking at her with a puzzled look on his face, “But how did you get the invitation in the first place?” he asked “Their emissary sometimes leaves the planet but they still only communicate telepathically. It’s virtually unheard of for them to offer help to other races, especially non-telepathic ones like humans.”

“I helped them out with a situation in the past. Avoided a minor diplomatic incident with a fleet of warmongering Judoon who weren’t taking no for an answer,” she explained with wink at him, deliberately only half-answering his question as she moved away from the console and down the stairs towards the door, “This is their way of repaying a favour.”

“Yes but how did they reach you?” he insisted, bounding down the stairs after her as she paused with one hand on the door.

“Hmmm, I don’t suppose spoilers is going to quite cut it this time is it?” River murmured reluctantly, eyeing him speculatively, “Although I’m starting to see why I might have lied about this little trip,” she added under her breath, “Doctor…I can communicate with them,” she explained hesitantly “Not as well as you, but….enough.”

“But….you shouldn’t….that means….” The Doctor trailed off staring at her in disbelief as he processed what she was telling him. “You can….” He broke off in a half-whisper watching as she nodded warily.

“Sweetie I’m sorry, I know it’s too early,” River broke in as he continued to stare at her wordlessly, still frowning at her as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing, “It’s ok, I can go. You’re too young. I shouldn’t have asked…” she added hurriedly, breaking their gaze and fumbling with her wrist, meaning to input some coordinates and get away as quickly as possible.

Starting suddenly, the Doctor reached forward for the second time in the past few minutes and stilled her wrist, “I think, River Song,” he said slowly, looking searchingly at her, “I have been asking the wrong question about you,” he paused as she raised an eyebrow at him before breaking into a huge grin, “I should have been asking what not who you are,” he added laughing in delight as she automatically smiled back at him.

“Well, quite a lot of that is still spoilers I’m afraid,” River murmured half-apologetically, still smiling at him as he continued to gaze delightedly at her.

“I’m starting to like that word a bit more now,” he confessed in a low tone, swaying towards her and into her personal space while reaching round to grasp the door handle and open the door behind her with a flourish.

“Oh Doctor,” she suddenly laughed, low and throaty that sent a shiver straight down his spine, “You have no idea yet!” she added with a wink as she turned and strode through the door.

**********


	2. chapter 2

Shivering slightly in the cold wind that whipped over her, River regretted leaving her coat in the TARDIS. Themis was a pretty stark and barren place as planets (or asteroids) went with a rocky surface that didn’t offer much protection from the elements. The Sententia had a complex cave system burrowed into the rocks where they lived but for this ceremony they emerged out onto a rocky plateau with only a few tall standing stones scattered around to provide any shelter from the wind.

She had come across this world not long into her prison sentence and had spent three weeks here helping them face down an invading fleet of Judoon as she had told the Doctor. The Sententia were not particularly aggressive by nature and had been extremely grateful for her slightly less scrupulous attitude to violence and willingness to blow up several warships if necessary.

They possessed a degree of future insight, not quite a full-blown ability to see the future but enough that they could pick up trails of behaviour patterns which could give enough of a vital clue to certain lost objects. They had promised her help in the future should she ever need it and she had recently thought to call in her favour. She’d been trying to track down a stolen artefact from an abandoned temple excavation in a remote part of the Milky Way galaxy.

She had briefly looked into it while studying for her doctorate back at Luna but hadn’t got that far. Since being in Stormcage, one of the Church subsects had got in touch to ask for her assistance in helping them to finally track it down. It was a sacrificial sword, rumoured to have been imbued with great power and now highly sought after by various warring factions of the Church. There had been vague promises of earning her pardon if she helped although quite frankly River felt heartily disinclined to provide much assistance to any member of the Church and had half a mind to flog it to the highest bidder in the galaxy if she ever managed to get her hands on it. She had decided to omit that little detail when explaining the rest to the Doctor earlier.

River glanced over to where the Doctor was standing peering at one of the tall stones, sonic in hand as he scanned the rock surface before frowning at the readings. Sighing softly to herself, River wondered if she was being totally reckless with her own past by bringing him here so young. She knew he didn’t find out who she was until Demon’s Run – he had told her that himself although he hadn’t said that he found out what she was at that time as well.

She had never seen him this young and an icy feeling that had nothing to do with the wind gripped her insides as she recalled the way he had stared at her with such suspicion. Yes there had been intrigue and perhaps some of his usual exasperation at her antics but none of the sheer familiarity and fondness that she had always taken for granted when he looked at her. She couldn’t bring herself to totally regret telling him she could communicate telepathically though. Ever since she’d told him he’d been looking at her wonder and something approaching his usual gaze and she’d caught him stealing glances at her like he couldn’t believe she existed. Surely this wasn’t it from now on was it? Surely her time with him hadn’t run out so soon? This was just an anomaly, time out of time, she would see her Doctor again and he’d know her…

Shaking herself from her reverie, River made her way over to the Doctor noticing how he started at her presence and how his arms reached up, fingers flexing as if to touch her before pulling back as though he wasn’t sure if he was allowed.

“They should be starting soon,” the Doctor said, nodding over to where a small group of Sententia were beginning to gather by a cluster of much smaller stones that were lying in a small hollow. Glancing over at where he indicated, River nodded in agreement, watching as one of the elders broke off from the group and approached them, both hands outstretched. They were a tall, androgynous race with a vaguely humanoid form that wasn’t unusual across many species in this part of the universe. What set them apart however, other than their telepathic abilities, was the faint bioluminescence that emanated from their skin and made them glow in the semi-darkness that enveloped their bleak planet.

“_Greetings visitors,_” the alien spoke to them by gently taking one of their hands each and River drew in a sharp breath as she felt a small buzz as the mental connection sprang up between them and she felt the words play out across her mind. She always found these communications took a huge amount of effort, much more so than for the Doctor which is why she had wanted him here in the first place. “_We thank you for bestowing on us the honour of your company and sharing our ceremony with us_.”

“_The honour is with us,_” both the Doctor and River replied separately as the Sentient nodded serenely before drawing them towards the larger group and gesturing for them to sit at one edge of the circle.

_“We have some other matters to address amongst our council first,_” the elder explained as they made to sit, “_This must be done amongst ourselves alone I’m afraid,_” they continued as both River and the Doctor nodded in agreement, “_We will invite you to join our meeting in due course when we turn to your problem. I hope we are able to be of assistance,_” the Sentient finished, breaking the connection and moving away to sit on the other side of the circle.

“These meetings are legendary River,” The Doctor whispered excitedly to her as they settled on the edge of the circle and watched as the rest of the group sat around them, “I can’t believe we’re here!”

“I know sweetie,” River whispered back, smiling indulgently back at him. “I had a feeling you might like it here,” she added as the group of elders, having taken their seats, all suddenly leant forward as if by one and placed their hands on a large stone in the centre of the circle. The faint glow that emanated from each of the elders suddenly seemed to increase in brightness, lighting up their skin and seeming to almost flow down their arms to the central stone where their hands were placed.

Leaning forward slightly, River let out the breath she realised she had been holding as she watched the group of strange beings, heads bowed in concentration, hands and bodies glowing in the dim light. She glanced over at the Doctor who was also gazing in wonder at the strange, solemn ritual going on around them. As if he could sense her gaze on him, he turned to catch her eye, looking at her with that open, delighted and fascinated expression of his that it took her breath away all over again.

“Thank you Doctor,” she whispered suddenly, “For being here, coming with me when I needed,” she added when he frowned slightly in confusion, “I know you didn’t have to,” she continued softly, leaning forward to squeeze his hand gently, “But thank you.”

Looking down at where her hand covered his, the Doctor slowly turned his over to link his fingers through hers before looking back up at her with a soft smile. “I have a feeling this is something I do rather a lot in the future” he whispered back, watching intently as she glanced down at their hands before looking back up at him.

Just as she was about to reply however, their moment was interrupted by one of the elders rising from their seat opposite where River and the Doctor were seated and gesturing for them to join the circle properly. Turning back to face the circle, both River and the Doctor stretched their arms out, palms facing forward to rest gently on the stone in the middle, one of her hands half covering his as she did so.

At first there was nothing and then suddenly River gasped, a feeling of pressure building quickly behind her eyes and then suddenly…….. voices, images, scenes all flashed through her mind at once all accompanied by a jolt of intense pain. “Ahhh,” she hissed, breaking the connection and pulling her hands back automatically and running a hand across her forehead to try and ease the pain.

“River?” the Doctor jerked his head round to face her, eyes anxiously scanning her face, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she muttered, waving away his concerns and holding her hands back out in front of her, pointedly not looking in his direction. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hands back on the stone, this time trying to control the barrage of images that again came at her with a blinding intensity. She had previously only communicated one-on-one with the Sententia and that had always taken some effort but now, feeling the full force of the group, she was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the mental connection. Trembling slightly, she closed her eyes, feeling a layer of sweat break out across her forehead as she tried to keep up some of her mental barriers and hold back the searing pain she could feel building behind her eyes again.

“River!” the Doctor repeated in a worried hiss when he felt her hand trembling over his.

“I’m fine Doctor,” River panted through gritted teeth, still keeping her eyes tightly shut.

“You’re not!” he shot back, glancing over at her again, “Stop this, I can do it by myself.”

“No.. I can do… arghh!” she broke off, unable to keep talking, biting her lip against the pain, “Stop distracting me,” she muttered breathing heavily, “I need to…focus…arghhh” she gasped, unable to stop the cry of pain that escaped her.

Screwing her eyes up tight, she pressed her hands firmly back against the stone, not letting the Doctor pry her hands off it. The pain however was building back up again and instead of the images and words she had seen flashing across her mind before, now all she could see was a blinding white light. Desperately trying to stifle a whimper of pain, she tried to focus on the sensation of her hands on the stone, on the feel of the Doctor’s hand under hers, anything to try and ground her and keep in control but she found she was less and less aware of any sensation other than the pain. She could vaguely hear the Doctor talking, shouting to her maybe, but it all sounded so muffled and far away. The pain wasn’t stopping, reaching a crescendo behind her eyes and spreading out all over her body. Opening her mouth to scream, she couldn’t hear anything and instead felt her body slumping forward before everything faded suddenly to black.

************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for cliffhanger, am busy this weekend so wanted to get some of it up before then, final part should be up next week. am unsure whether to descend into a little bit of smut for that or not...


	3. chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5/11/19 - rewrite of penultimate scene. hope it's improved. am supposed to be writing my other fic but got distracted by this, oops.

Pacing nervously around the medical bay in the Tardis, the Doctor glanced anxiously at his sonic, resisting the urge to scan River yet again. She was still unconscious, lying on the treatment couch where he’d placed her….. five or was it ten, fifteen minutes ago? He wasn’t really sure anymore. Everything was a bit of a blur since she’d collapsed back at the ceremony and he’d barely given the Sententia the most cursory of goodbyes in his panic to get her back to the TARDIS safely. In fact, this entire evening had been a complete whirlwind since River had appeared and casually dropped one revelation bombshell after another.

Leaning back against the counter, the Doctor ran a hand through his hair and exhaled deeply, looking back over at River. Despite his worry over her current state he couldn’t help but feel the surge of excitement that had been bubbling up ever since she had told him she was a touch telepath. What that _meant_! He had so many questions, so many thoughts he needed to process. What was she? How old was she? Did she have any other non-human abilities? He hadn’t been able to sense anything unusual the previous times he’d seen her but he was well aware there were plenty of high-tech bio-dampeners available in all sorts of guises. If she wasn’t fully human then the implications for him…..for them and whatever relationship they had in his future were huge.

He’d been trying to suppress the feeling of excitement and anticipation about seeing her again after her teaser on the beach after escaping the Byzantium. That had been dampened somewhat after losing Rory recently and he’d tried to lose himself in spoiling Amy. In the quiet moments by himself though, he had found himself dwelling more and more on the increasingly appealing mystery of River Song. Tonight had simply amplified that feeling of excitement a hundred-fold and it was taking all his powers of restraint to not fully scan her with the sonic and find out there and then who and what exactly she was. Shoving his hands into his pockets to try and physically stop himself giving into that urge, he suddenly heard her groan softly and begin to stir on the couch.

“Doctor?” River muttered, blinking up at him as he hurried over to her.

“Are you alright?” he asked anxiously, quickly getting his sonic out again.

“Urgh…bit groggy,” River replied, “What happened? And stop pointing that thing at me,” she gestured to his screwdriver.

“You passed out in the middle of the ceremony,” the Doctor explained hurriedly, “I think it must have been a type of sensory overload. Not uncommon you know with all that telepathic energy but can be quite dangerous. Especially for humans,” he added pointedly.

“Hmmm, nice try sweetie,” River replied archly, ignoring his remark, “How did you get me back to the TARDIS though? You didn’t carry me did you?” she suddenly asked looking slightly horrified.

“No!” he squeaked, the tips of his ears reddening slightly at the implication, “Programmed your vortex manipulator. Easy peasy really,” he added smugly, gesturing at the device that he’d left on the side, as she rolled her eyes at him.

“But what about the information I wan….

“All taken care of,” he interrupted, “Swing by Humeron VI in the late 32nd century. That should set you on the right track.”

“Thank you,” River murmured with a sigh, looking up at him gratefully before wincing slightly, “I don’t suppose you’ve got anything for this headache have you?”

“Sorry!” the Doctor exclaimed, spinning round and striding over to one of the drawers. He pulled out a few bottles at random before grabbing a small vial of pink liquid and handing it to her with a flourish, “There you go,” he pronounced as River took a large swig with a shudder, “That’ll get rid of it in no time. Although I should maybe just….” He trailed off, looking apprehensively over at her.

“Should just what?” River asked him suspiciously as he hovered over her.

“Just you know….check everything’s ok?” he explained cautiously, nodding at her head, “Up there”

“No Doctor!” River exclaimed, shaking her head firmly “You’re not going poking around for spoilers in my mind. I know what you’re like and I’ve probably told you far too much this evening anyway”

“I won’t! I promise,” the Doctor replied emphatically, “You’ve had a shock from a hugely high dose of telepathic energy. That can leave small tears, damage in your mental fabric. Nothing bad at the moment but if they’re left…” he trailed off again, looking at her anxiously, “Please River,” he added softly, bringing his hands tentatively up and hovering by her face.

Sighing reluctantly, River opened her mouth to refuse but then closed it again before nodding and closing her eyes, leaning back once again against the couch.

Leaning forward, the Doctor slowly reached out, pausing slightly before gently placing the tips of his fingers on her temples. Taking a deep breath, he closed his own eyes, reaching out mentally to River very hesitantly at first, just sweeping gently across the surface of her mind. Not meeting any resistance initially, he probed a little deeper, tentatively feeling out for any obvious blanks or holes that shouldn’t be there. As he reached a little further, he could feel her mental barriers come up, shielding certain areas. Suddenly though, it was as though something slipped and the walls that had been there came crashing down around him and….._ Oh_

Wrenching his hands away, the Doctor stumbled backwards away from River, staring at her aghast.

“Doctor what’s the matter?” she demanded, sitting up and staring at him in alarm.

“I…..errrr… nothing, absolutely nothing,” he stammered, backing away towards the door, running a hand haphazardly through his hair, “All fine, no damage by the look of things. Lucky really. Excellent. Fine, ok well I just need to check something. I think the outer sensors need their ummm errr sensors adjusting,” he gabbled before turning and hurrying out the room without a backward glance.

Staring after him in bemusement, River sighed and swung her legs over the side of the couch. Getting tentatively to her feet, she then made her way over to the counter, opening one of the drawers and picking up a small lipstick tube hidden at the back. “Oh Doctor,” she muttered to herself as she tucked the tube and her vortex manipulator into her clutch bag that had been abandoned on a chair by the door, “I had a feeling tonight was going to end like this,” she added, striding purposefully out the room and in the direction her husband had gone.

“Doctor?” River called out softly, finding him staring purposefully at the monitor in the console room, “What happened? What did you see?” she added more firmly when he ignored her and continued to stare at the screen, “Doctor!”

Sighing heavily, the Doctor spun round slowly to face her, leaning back against the console. “Umm, a few things. Not sure. Probably not important.” he mumbled, looking intently down at his hands as he fidgeted.

“Doctor?” River repeated in a warning tone, stepping towards him slightly.

“I didn’t see much. It was all a bit of a jumble,” he blurted out, “Something about a baby, Amy, ice skating, a pyramid perhaps – do we go to Egypt? Love the Egyptians, great outfits!“ he gabbled, still not meeting her eye.

“Oh Doctor,” she breathed, eyeing him with concern, “You can’t know any of that yet”

“And a visit to Rexon, that was quite clear,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, glancing briefly up at her, a blush slowly spreading over his face.

“Rexon? Yes that was only a week ago for me. That was the last time I saw you,” River replied, frowning at him slightly. “Older you that is,” she added, “We went to visit for eclipse festival. You took me to see it especially and then we….Oh!” she broke off, a look of understanding suddenly spreading over her face as the Doctor turned an even deeper shade of red. “You saw…The skinny dipping in that forbidden pool?” she asked, biting her lip to stop herself laughing as he managed to nod, “And then we were chased by the guards all the way back to the TARDIS. And then…” She tailed off, raising an eyebrow suggestively at him, grinning openly at him now as he stared back at her, cheeks burning.

Gaping at her, the Doctor opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out.

“And then we shagged against the console as neither of us could wait to get back to the bedroom,” River finished for him, looking at him in amusement, “Just where you’re leaning in fact!” she purred with a wink, biting back a laugh as he practically leapt into the air and hastily moved away from the console, “Twice,” she added finally with a smirk as he turned back to stare open-mouthed at her, although technically that bit wasn’t quite true. They had made it as far as the corridor.

“Oh sweetie,” she sighed, taking pity on him as he still gaped open-mouthed between her and the console, “You weren’t supposed to see that. I’m normally able to stop you, I must have still been affected from the ceremony I suppose,” she murmured, “Are you really that surprised though?” River asked curiously, “Has future me been terribly discreet?”

“Well no…I thought….well I didn’t like to assume…but…it’s…” the Doctor spluttered, as River raised an eyebrow again in amusement at his floundering, “I …. I thought it might be less…. I mean more… _private_ than….” he finished, gesturing wildly at the console.

“Oh sweetie really,” River laughed softly, "You have so much to look forward to!” she added with a suggestive wink that brought the blush back that had been slowly fading from the Doctor’s cheeks. Smiling wistfully, she sighed softly to herself she watched him flail and choke on air at her comment. She was only delaying the inevitable at the moment. As much fun as it was to tease this very young version of her not-even husband with spoilers, there was no way he was supposed to know any of this about them quite yet.

“I am you know,” the Doctor murmured suddenly, looking up at her properly and holding her gaze, “Looking forward to it,” he continued softly as she quirked an eyebrow at him, taking a small step towards her, “I know it might seem sometimes like I’m not… like I’m running but…”

“I know Doctor” River finished for him softly, smiling wistfully back at him, watching as he hesitantly raised a hand to hover over her hair and tentatively brush the curls back from her face.

“You always know River,” he half-whispered in reply, a pained expression flitting briefly across his face before he leant forward, his fingers tracing delicately down the side of her face.

Hardly daring to breathe suddenly, River watched as his eyes followed the path of his hand before darting back to meet hers and dropping briefly to her lips. “Doctor….” She whispered as he hesitantly leant down and pressed his lips very gently to hers in a chaste kiss. Biting back a gasp of surprise, River returned the kiss gently, not pushing him any further as he pulled back after a few moments, a slow smile spreading across his face and _oh _that was her Doctor there. That look of fascination, delight and arousal.

Before she could say anything further, the Doctor leant down and kissed her again, more firmly this time. Taken aback slightly by his change in attitude, River kissed him back but let him take the lead, ignoring the voice in her head telling her she should not be letting this happen. Opening her mouth to him, she sighed softly as the tip of his tongue gently probed her lower lip, sliding her hands slowly up his chest.

Breaking the kiss slowly after a few moments, River looked up him as he opened his eyes, his pupils dark as he stared down at her “Doctor we really shouldn’t…” she murmured reluctantly, smoothing her hands over his jacket lapels and dropping her eyes to his bow tie.

Ignoring her comment, the Doctor ran a finger down her cheek and under her chin, tilting her head back up to him as he leant forward and kissed her again “Shhh… we can..” he mumbled against her lips, breaking away briefly before kissing her slightly more forcefully this time, his tongue curling round hers as he slid one hand up into her hair while the other slowly travelled down to settle on her hip and pull her closer.

Losing herself in the kiss, River suddenly let out a slight gasp when she felt herself being backed up and onto the console as he moved his lips away from hers and trailed them across her cheek and down her neck. “Doctor, are you sure?” she managed to gasp out as his hands began to wander from her hips, one skating up her ribs and over the side of her breast and the other gently tracing patterns under one of her knees. Moaning slightly as one of his hands teased gently over the swell of her breast and nipple, she ignored the warning voices in her head telling her to protest this and instead wound her own hands up round the Doctor’s neck and into his hair, pulling him against her as he moved his mouth down to nip gently at her collarbone.

Kissing his way slowly back up her neck as he moved to stand between her legs, the Doctor ignored her question and instead gently bit down on her earlobe, making her moan out loud as one of his hands began to tease its way slowly up her leg over the fabric of her dress. “Doctor!” River moaned as his fingertips brushed further up her thigh “are you sure about this?” she repeated urgently, desperately trying not to arch herself into his touch as his fingers stilled suddenly.

Pulling away from her neck, the Doctor leant forward to look her in the eye before dropping his gaze to run over her body and back up again before moving in even closer, pausing a mere inch away from her lips “I don’t think I’ve ever been surer about anything” he confessed in a hoarse whisper.

Inhaling sharply at his words and taking in the flushed, aroused expression on his face, River threw away any last lingering doubt and pulled him to her by his lapels, kissing him fiercely and pressing herself into him causing them both to groan. She released his lapels and pushed his jacket off his shoulders, pushing his braces down and pulling off his bowtie in one quick motion, flinging it behind her onto the console before rapidly unbuttoning his shirt.

Pushing her back further onto the console, the Doctor pushed her dress up her thighs, bunching it up around her waist as he started to trail a hand slowly up one thigh. Arching into him, River ran her hands up his bare chest and round his back, running her nails gently over his shoulders as his fingers inched ever higher.

Breaking their kiss and arching her head back as his fingers finally teased their way inside her underwear and brushed slowly through her folds, River let out a moan. “Oh yes sweetie” she panted breathlessly as he teased gently over her clit before slipping one, then two fingers inside her, slowly fucking her while rubbing his thumb over her clit.

“Gods you’re beautiful” the Doctor murmured against her neck as he slid his fingers back inside her and curled them just so, making her moan even louder. “So beautiful” he repeated, pushing more firmly against her clit and making her jerk beneath him.

“Oh gods Doctor” River moaned breathlessly “How do you know how to do…” she trailed off with a groan as he bit down against her neck and pushed his thumb against her clit once more.

“Sneak preview” he growled in her ear as her inner walls began to clench around his fingers and she let out a loud groan, letting her head drop back against the time rotor as she felt the waves of pleasure wash through her as she climaxed.

Lifting her head back up to find him smirking smugly at her, River hauled him to her, kissing him soundly as her hands ran down over his chest before teasingly brushing his erection through his trousers and making him groan into her mouth as his hips jerked against her. Moving her hands to his waistband, she quickly undid his trousers, pushing them down over his hips along with his boxers as he moved to pull her knickers down and discard them on the floor.

She brought a leg up meaning to kick off her high heels but he stopped her, pushing the shoe back on and grinning at her, “Shoe fetish so early on Doctor?” she purred at him with a wink as he stepped in between her thighs again, pushing her dress higher up around her waist. Taking his cock in hand, he lined himself up with her entrance before slowly pushing himself inside her, letting out a loud groan as he pushed all the way in before stilling briefly. Putting a hand up by her head on the console to brace himself, he leant in to whisper in her ear “I’ve been thinking about you in nothing but heels since I last saw you”.

“I’ll be sure to remember that in the future” River moaned as he thrust into her more deeply, winding her legs around his waist and digging one of her heels into his bum to emphasise her words, making him hiss into her neck.

“Please do” he managed to gasp out before River threaded her hands up into his hair and pulled him down towards her, kissing him thoroughly as one of his hands made its way up under her dress to squeeze her breast and run his thumb over her nipple. Breaking their kiss, the Doctor shifted his hips, pushing up more deeply inside her, making her moan out load as he moved his lips back down her neck to nip gently at that sensitive spot on her neck that he’d bitten earlier.

Felling his movements starting to become more erratic, River arched herself into him even more, guiding one of his hands between her legs to rub hard against her clit. Squeezing her legs harder around his waist, River thrust up against him as she felt her climax building again, this time letting out a loud cry as she came just before he climaxed with a muffled grunt of her name into her neck.

Panting heavily, River lay back against the console, running her hands lazily up the Doctor’s back and into his hair as they both struggled to get their breath back. “So…” she murmured as he pushed himself up to gaze down at her, his eyes still dark and hazy with lust “how did the real thing compare to the preview?”

Lifting a hand to trail down her face before brushing her hair back, the Doctor leant forward and kissed her slowly and firmly before breaking away to grin boyishly at her “A thousand times better Dr Song!”

“Only a thousand?” she quipped with a smirk, kissing him again briefly before pulling away fractionally “I’m sure we can improve on that!” she murmured against his lips before kissing him soundly.

*********

“Doctor!”

Groaning slightly in annoyance, the Doctor felt someone shaking his arm. Moving to shake them off, he made to turn over in his sleep and was suddenly jerked wide awake when he abruptly found himself on the floor of the console room with Amy Pond staring down at him.

“Wake up sleepy head” she laughed, “You promised me breakfast on an asteroid or something I seem to remember.”

Rubbing his head, the Doctor sat up gingerly, glaring up his companion “I wasn’t asleep,” he retorted, glancing quickly around the console room. He didn’t remember falling asleep in the chair, he must have been more tired than he thought, “I was just resting my eyes,” he added defensively as Amy rolled her eyes at him.

“What were you doing last night that tired you out?” Amy asked curiously, “I thought you were all ‘sleep-is-humany-and-boring’?” she added mockingly with a grin.

“Oh you know, this and that,” the Doctor said vaguely, getting to his feet and straightening his lapels. Come to think of it, what _had _he been doing last night? There was something, something it felt like he was missing. Something big and very obvious and that it was just beyond him to remember what it was. He felt tired yes but in a good way. Satisfied? Was that it? Shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts, he wandered over to the monitor. Breakfast, that’s what he could think about. That would sort him out. Then he could think clearly.

“Ummm Doctor?” Amy’s voice suddenly drew him out of his reverie “Was someone here last night?”

“What?” he whirled round to stare at Amy in confusion “No, of course not!”

“Then whose coat is this?” Amy pointed out disbelievingly, holding up a long black coat that had fallen down under the jump seat as he gaped at her “And why?” she added, a knowing smirk breaking out over her face as she looked at him more closely, “Why do you have lipstick on your face?”

Laughing openly at him as his hand flew up to his cheek, Amy sauntered over to him as he whirled round to look at himself in the mirror, tracing over the faded lipstick mark with confusion “Oh Doctor you dark horse” she laughed at him with a knowing wink “You can tell me all the details over breakfast!”

“Pond! It’s not…” the Doctor spluttered, blushing bright red and looking away from her down at the console before looking away again sharply, the blush on his face deepening ever further. For some reason that brought all sorts of _thoughts_ to mind and….no… He was not going to dwell on phantom lipstick marks, mysterious items of clothing and a nagging suspicion about what may or may not have taken place on the console last night. Breakfast. He could deal with that instead. And if Amy said anything more then he was just going to have to ignore her for the rest of time. Easy.

******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phew. that was only supposed to be a short drabble but it somehow expanded! I've got plans for a longer post-Library River fic if anyone is interested in that....


End file.
